White Ribbon appeal taken down after accusations it asked people to ‘sponsor an abuser’

A White Ribbon pin. The domestic violence charity has removed its latest campaign from social media after it was ridiculed by critics. However the charity says it was ‘misunderstood’. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

A White Ribbon appeal asking people to donate money for violence prevention has been taken down after critics accused the organisation of essentially asking people to “sponsor an abuser”.

The campaign, which went up on Twitter and Facebook, showed an image of a man in a suit accompanied by the request for a donation to help the domestic violence charity run its prevention programs.